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GalNet/3300/September
19 SEP Ship Sales Service Report After last week's stunning news of a free Eagle for all, Core Dynamics falls back to a more usual 13.6% market share. Faulcon deLacy remains top of the pile and tightens its grip on the market even further with a 1.6% overall market share rise to 41.6%. We have been digging hard over the past week following the rumours of the FdL board doing a big deal. Although we haven't yet got the full story it appears that something huge is about to happen with the Cobra. Could this be linked to the 30 year anniversary tension between Eranin and the Federation? Zorgon Peterson once again accounts for a solid 26% share this week. Lakon sales remain static this week, and the company will hope today's news of the release of the Asp Explorer on 30 September will help stimulate interest in their range. Cold War Ready to Ignite? Eranin's 30 year anniversary of independence from the Federation is tomorrow, and their 'cold war' looks more and more like a tinderbox ready to ignite. Eranin is flaunting its freedom in the face of Federal systems by announcing a celebratory liquor produced in Eranin and its fellow independent communist system Wyrd. In response the Federation has banned liquor in the local area and deployed many black ops teams around the systems, which has even disrupted our own Black Market data gathering this week. Frankly things don't look good. We'd expect to see both sides reaching out to members over the coming days for assistance if things take any further turn for the worse. 22 SEP Eranin Celebration Liquor Banned by Federation Eranin's slow-burn escalation of tension with the Federation over its 30th Anniversary Of Independence celebrations looks to be coming to a head. On Saturday, Eranin's 30th anniversary, the Federation declared the special celebratory liquor from Eranin illegal. Liquor from Wyrd, Eranin's fellow independent communist system, was also included in the ban. A spokesperson for the Eranin Government said: "We don't understand why the Federation would want to deny its citizens the opportunity to share our celebratory liquor with us - it is just a simple expression of shared joy, and does no harm." Off the record, it was indicated that the Eranin Government is furious over what it sees as a bullying overlord attempting to spoil its big day, and this sort of behavior is precisely why Eranin wanted to get away from the Federation in the first place. Over the last couple of days it looks like the whole operation has moved underground - there has been a marked increase in Commanders trading liquor from Eranin to Federal systems on the black market. Meanwhile the marked increase in trade in black market weapons from the Anarchy systems continues unabated, with large numbers of Commanders also involved in shipments. Reports suggest this is being funded by Black Ops cells, whose presence we have already alerted you to, placed there by a Federal government for whom the celebratory liquor was the final straw. They feel that Eranin has gone way beyond acceptable boundaries of provocation as it tries to lure other systems away from the Federation and go independent. The ultimate destination of all this hardware is currently unknown, but having a large amount of fire-power being pumped into the already delicate situation surely cannot be good news for the short-medium term of the systems. Faulcon deLacy Slashes Cobra Prices by 50%, Offers 100% Trade-In Value in Unprecedented Move It turns out that big deal that the Faulcon deLacy board was rumoured to be working on is a spectacular one. In a surprise move, prices of their Cobra Mk III craft have been slashed by 50% to 86,052 credits. FdL is also offering 100% of the trade-in value of your current ship when you switch to a Cobra Mk III. It is a staggering move, that on the face of it makes no commercial sense - why would a company with a market leadership position give away all that profit? Have the FdL board gone soft in the head? Rest assured we are on the case and won't rest until we get to the bottom of the story on this one. The net result, however, is a significant militarization of the ships out there - around two thirds of all trade-ins to the Cobra have been from trading ships like the Lakons and the ZP Hauler. That's an awful lot more combat capability flying round the galaxy. 23 SEP Eranin vs Federation Skirmishes Intensify Commanders are getting heavily involved in the growing conflict between Eranin and the Federation over Eranin's 30th Anniversary of Independence. Almost as many missions were flown in support of each side in the past 24 hours as in the whole of the weekend since Eranin's 30th anniversary. It is a similar story with Faulcon deLacy's continued incredible 50%-off deal continuing to take significant hauling capacity out of the systems and replacing it with the highly combat capable Cobra. Supporters of the beleaguered Eranin government are running illicit Eranian and Wyrd celebratory liquor to Federal starports - Commander Kudlmudl's Sidewinder is the highest non-anonymous Commander with 17 liquor runs totalling 82 canisters. LG Khan has been putting his capacious Lakon Type 9 to good use in Eranin's service with 3,671 canisters of liquor illicitly shipped over the course of 12 trade runs. There is also a healthy black market weapons trade in support of the Federation. Commander Neon Raven is currently 'most wanted' at Azeban City (Eranin, Independent), and Commander BlueFalcon is 'most wanted' at Chango Dock (i Bootis, Federal). Each have over 450 kills to their name. GalNet data feeds indicate that some Commanders are taking advantage of the growing confusion to indulge in indiscriminate slaughter - Commanders Germaniac and Pheyes are both wanted for significant numbers of kills in the i Bootis system, but are also towards the top of the table of most bounties collected in the same system. Commander ZaphodBeeble has emerged as the public face of 'Freeport Tax and Protection Services'. Freeport is in the anarchic LP 98-132 system, and ZaphodBeeble and friends are operating what at first glance appears to be a straightforward protection racket. Normally we would simply expect nature to take its course with such behavior, however with current levels of paranoia sweeping the systems we have to wonder whether there is some wider strategy at play. Will the erstwhile extortionists / enterprising entrepreneurs ultimately turn out to be yet another machination in the power play that is unfolding before our eyes? 24 SEP Eranin vs Federation - Commander Reactions There are still commanders such as CMDR Pheyes who are ambivalent about their allegiance and appear to be indiscriminate in their targeting. Many more, however, appear to be aligning themselves strongly with one camp or the other. CMDR zenoic neatly summed up Eranin supporters' feelings. "Freedom, yes. Freedom to trade legitimate goods, freedom from Federal sponsored terrorism, freedom from Federal bullying. Long live the Eranin revolution! 30 more years!" CMDR Nemesis T Warlock in his Anaconda is rapidly catching up with CMDR BlueFalcon at the top of the Most Wanted list in Federal space, and CMDR Mark0 continues to uphold Independence for Asellus and Eranin. CMDR DeGrimmy is taking it upon himself to arrange more organised activity. "A group of pilots, myself included, will be taking the fight to the Federation by attacking their forces at i Bootis B. A broadcast will be available at 8pm BST (~5 minutes from posting). The USS can be found ~10Ls away from I Bootis B. If they are not stopped at Eranin, they will not stop at all. I found a bulletin at Federation occupied Magec earlier, asking for "Federation Patriots" to fight any independent system security force in return for a handsome sum of credits. This has to stop." CMDR Ozric's assertion of: "Better dead than red!" Would seem to indicate that he is firmly on the side of the Federation-supporting rebels. CMDR 2H@RD 2H@NDLE is putting his lasers where his mouth is by heroically defending Federal assets in i Bootis with a Cobra, whilst CMDR Cryo is doing a similar job in Dahan. The tension is cranking up and rumors are spreading like wildfire. CMDR MarktJones messaged: "Getting dozens of 'Request Denied' responses from the station, at first I thought the traffic control had got their hands on some of the celebration liquor. But then I realised, the Federation has hacked the docking control system at Azeban City." It seems yesterday's blithe denial by Imperial Senator Denton Patreus hasn't convinced all of you. CMDR knowles2 says: "The Empire senator sounds like he could barely keep a straight face during that interview. I wonder how long it will be until an Imperial fleet is spotted above Eranin to protect them from Federal aggression." And of course there are those such as CMDR Lukozer, who are fiercely loyal to the Empire. "Death to the Federation! My loyalties are with the Empire, but ... the independent systems get my support, particularly Eranin which seems to have some 'unofficial backing' from the glorious Empire" Eranin vs Federation Perhaps rather than conflict, Imperial Senator Denton Patreus' characterization of the situation around Eranin yesterday as 'civil war' is growing more accurate by the day... Commanders continue to fly in support of both sides of the conflict, although with a slight majority on the Federal side - the side of the rebellion. We spoke to representatives from both sides last night. A source close to the communist Eranin government passed on this message for broadcast: "The Federation-backed rebels are determined to undermine everything Eranin stands for. Comrades! It is time to take up arms and fight the capitalist aggressors!" There has been a massive surge in Eranin celebratory liquor being smuggled into Federation-controlled Chango Dock. The Eranin government wants to see even more destinations targeted with the now-symbolic liquor to spread support for their cause. Off the record they are also keen for more practical assistance from Commanders in fighting. A spokesperson for the Federation-backed rebels, who wished to remain anonymous, told us: "We want to be free to live our lives! Help us kick some Commie butt and break this centralist oppression - every form we fill in, every eye-watering taxation increase, every permit they deny, a little something dies inside us. They will not control us!" We are getting reports that the Independent Alliance are about to formally intervene on Eranin's behalf with Federation representatives. 25 SEP Commander Activity as Unrest Spreads In response to the Eranin government's call yesterday for a wider spread of its now-infamous celebration liquor, there has been much activity involving large amounts of liquor in several systems. Over 30 Commanders have taken liquor to Opala's Romanenko Estate. In LHS 3262, CMDR Waugh and CMDR Sophie-Beth have both been major contributors to the liquor flooding into Louis de Lacaille Prospect. CMDR Sandmann is also doing his best to help Bolg's Moxon's Mojo star port drown its sorrows. In combat news, CMDR Nemesis T Warlock in his Anaconda has now hit the top of the Most Wanted list in Federal space, and CMDR Neon Raven and CMDR erarda have been busy disrupting the Independents. The Freeport blockade is still active. The blockaders are yet to show their hand for one side or the other, leading our informants to the conclusion that this activity is genuinely an entrepreneurial protection racket rather than a smokescreen by one of the power blocs. There would therefore seem to be a significant risk of the blockaders being caught up in a scorched-earth policy by Federation black ops units looking to cover the tracks of all the illegal weapons they have had smuggled out of the Freeport anarchy. Meanwhile, there are whispers of covert Federal activity in Asellus Primus and Wyrd. Eranin and Rebels in Federation-Brokered Peace Talks As Eranin 30th Anniversary celebratory liquor is spread far and wide, the Federation Black Ops teams are moving to more overt than covert operations in support of the rebels, removing all doubt that the rebels are a Federation proxy. Consequently, the gloves are now well and truly off in the conflict between the Eranin government and the Federation-backed rebels, with ever-increasing numbers of Commanders involved on each side. Congressman Silvia Calhoon, the Federal Representative from nearby Aulin, is today chairing peace talks at a secret, secure outpost between representatives of the Eranin government and the rebel leaders. Our as yet unconfirmed reports still suggest a representative of the Independent Alliance is also attending. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Senator Patreus denied rumours that he had personally extended a loan to the Eranin government. 26 SEP Eranin and Rebel Peace Talks Fail - War Declared! Yesterday's peace talks between the Eranin government and Federation-leaning rebels collapsed into chaos yesterday. An ambassador of the Independent Alliance was due to attend in support of Eranin but did not arrive - furious Eranin government officials accused the Federation of interference. It seems Ambassador Eliza Fernandez was delayed by customs en route to Eranin after the ship she was travelling in was caught with contraband Celebration Liquor on board at a Federal stop-and-search in the Opala system. Silvia Calhoon, the Federal Representative from Aulin who chaired yesterday's peace talks, said: "We offer our sympathy for Ms Fernandez being delayed, but government representatives need to lead by example. However, we are here to focus on mediation, and helping to settle the internal conflict between the Eranin government and a section of their people. We need both sides to sit down and talk. Sadly, the Eranin government did not stay long yesterday; we cannot achieve this noble goal if the Eranin government refuses to talk." The Eranin government, who were yesterday rumored to be bankrolled by Imperial Senator Patreus, made no comment. However, shortly afterwards heavy fighting was reported in i Bootis as Eranin Defence Force ships attacked Federal Navy assets. Reports are also coming in of strikes and sabotage disrupting the markets in Louis de Lacaille Prospect (LHS 3262), Romanenko Estate (Opala) and Moxons Mojo (Bolg) - all Federal systems. In the last hour rebel ships have attacked in Asellus Primus and Wyrd, both Independent systems, supportive of the government in Eranin. The LP 98-132 anarchy is home to the Freeport starport, which was the source of many illegal weapons supplied to the Federation backed rebels and is currently subject to a civilian blockade. Many Commanders have been mobilized in support of each side. The Faulcon deLacy Limited Edition Black / Wireframe paint job is being used by protagonists from each side as a method of indicating their participation, but disguising their allegiance. The blockaders have come out as against the federation but still remain independent. We received this message from them outlining their intention to align themselves with the Eranin Defence forces: "Greetings Commanders and citizens of LP 98-132, We've had a chat, Treyshon and I; we have made up our minds about the current situation and feel that we can no longer ignore the escalating tensions. We've been carrying on as normal as if nothing is happening. Burying our heads in the sand, so to speak. If the Federation manage to bring Eranin back into their oppressive fold we will start to see Federal influence creep into LP 98. This cannot be allowed to happen. Therefore, as of right now, we are aligning ourselves with the Eranin Defence forces to push back against the Feds and FTPS is officially on hiatus from taxation duties. Over the next couple of days we will be scanning all ships leaving Freeport and will destroy ANY vessels attempting to smuggle weapons out of Freeport, be them Elite Federation pilots or otherwise. We will NOT tolerate any efforts to bolster the Federation's position in Eranin and the surrounding systems. We are doing this as much for ourselves as for the pilots and citizens of Freeport that enjoy the free trade and everything else that comes from existing in an anarchic system. We will not tolerate interference here. Rise up now, never surrender!" CMDR Star Noble's 'recruitment campaign' is increasing the numbers of privateers targeting Chango Dock. During a routine scouting mission CMDR Qrunch Miner has discovered a huge Federation fleet Amassing at i Bootis B Unidentified Signal Source! In combat news, CMDR Nemesis T Warlock is still racking up the Kills against the Feds whilst CMDR Erarda is coming out is force against Eranin. CMDR Maeyae has become the top trader of liquor in a type 9, trading 20 times in one day, amassing over 8000 units and CMDR Jak sold Liquor in 13 different stations in just one day. 29 SEP Eranin Civil War Escalates The Azebanian provincial city of New Fresno fell to rebel forces this morning as the civil war moved into its fourth day. Thousands of pro-government refugees have fled to Azeban's historical capital city of Fort Bradley, escaping what is believed to be, thus far, a largely bloodless rebellion. The weekend had seen significant government victories, thanks in large part to the participation of traders from the Pilot's Federation. Cmdrs Johnny V and Fallschirmjäger provided Eranin's government with high quantities of Combat Stabilizers and Basic Medicines, while Cmdrs Nephalim Angel and Psychopomp delivered cases of celebratory liquor in the thousands. However, orbital strikes on grain silos by rebel craft have caused panic on the streets of New Fresno and a mass exodus of loyalist civilians that has left the city in rebel hands. Civilians have begun hoarding medical supplies, driving demand for essential medicine while demand for luxury goods and consumer technology is plummeting. Commentators suggest the market's reaction, when it comes, will be swift and dramatic. Fort Bradley remains untouched by rebel forces. An official speaking from the city denied rumors of Imperial support for the long-standing government, and said: "We are doing all we can to support our comrades making the journey to our capital, where they will be greeted warmly by the loyal people of Azeban." He went on to dismiss the uprising, describing the conflict many are calling the 'Anniversary War' as a 'skirmish', saying: "Eranin is a system of pioneers that has stood proudly independent for 30 years, and we ask our friends in the Pilot's Federation to supply us with medicine and weapons to assist in opposing these rebels' unjustified attacks against Eranin's people." In a dispatch believed to have come from the overthrown New Fresno, rebel forces responded: "We demand democracy, nothing more. Our unelected government steals away our freedoms while raising ever more in taxes. We will remove them from power one building, one city and one planet at a time, if we must. We have attacked only the grain silos with which Eranin's government shackles its people, and any bloodshed will be on our oppressors' hands, not ours." In other developments: - The conflict has yet to reach the orbital Azeban City. The starport remains under government control, though rumors persist of a growing black market in aid of the rebel faction. - Ambassador Eliza Fernandez of the Independent Alliance has declined to comment on her detention by customs officials, or on the contraband liquor alleged to have been found in her ship's hold. - Delegates in the independent Wyrd system denied accusations of interference or partisanship in the Anniversary War. - Cmdr Neon Raven is Eranin's Most Wanted for actions against Pilot's Federation ships. Cmdr Vega Trantor is Most Wanted in Asellus Primus. The Pilot's Federation condemned all attacks against its members and local authorities. - Conflict between Pilot's Federation Commanders in the i Bootis system has seen 3,316 bounties collected in recent days, but a further 6,343 fresh bounties handed out by the federation's enforcers. Cmdr Erik Marcaigh is the system's Most Wanted, and has been described as "a menace". The Pilot's Federation asked other pilots to "follow the lead of leading bounty hunter Cmdr kiFF and collect the generous rewards offered on rogue agents". - Trading and combat activities currently favor Eranin's government over its rebels, though disinformation campaigns on both sides make accurate reporting problematic. 30 SEP History of the Eranin Conflict Now into its fifth day, the Eranin civil war has escalated quickly. The system's independence celebrations saw mass exports of celebratory liquor, a practice banned in short order by the Federation. The perceived Federal opposition to the Independent communist regime sparked anti-government protests and the rise of pro-Federation rebels in Eranin. War erupted on September 26 and spilled out of the system with rebel attacks on targets in Wyrd, and retaliation against Federal Navy assets in i Bootis by Eranin Defense Forces. At the weekend, Azeban's provincial city of New Fresno fell to the pro-Federation rebels, triggering an exodus of loyalist refugees. Rumors persist of Imperial involvement. Category:GalNet